Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1422
       
       
        
       By Senator Stewart
       
       
       
       
       
       13-01280-17                                           20171422__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to minority teacher education
    3         scholars; amending s. 1009.60, F.S.; revising
    4         eligibility criteria for receipt of a minority teacher
    5         education scholarship; amending s. 1009.605, F.S.;
    6         revising the scholar awards on which the Florida Fund
    7         for Minority Teachers, Inc.’s budget projection to the
    8         Department of Education must be based; providing an
    9         effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 1009.60,
   14  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   15         1009.60 Minority teacher education scholars program.—There
   16  is created the minority teacher education scholars program,
   17  which is a collaborative performance-based scholarship program
   18  for African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, and
   19  Native American students. The participants in the program
   20  include Florida’s Florida College System institutions and its
   21  public and private universities that have teacher education
   22  programs.
   23         (1) The minority teacher education scholars program shall
   24  provide an annual scholarship in an amount that shall be
   25  prorated based on available appropriations and may not exceed
   26  $4,000 for each approved minority teacher education scholar who
   27  is enrolled in one of Florida’s public or private colleges or
   28  universities, in the junior year and is admitted into a teacher
   29  education program, and has not earned more than 18 credit hours
   30  of upper-division-level courses in education.
   31         (4) A student may receive a scholarship from the program
   32  for 3 consecutive years if the student remains enrolled full
   33  time in the program and makes satisfactory progress toward a
   34  baccalaureate degree with a major in education or a graduate
   35  degree with a major in education, leading to initial
   36  certification.
   37         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   38  1009.605, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   39         1009.605 Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, Inc.—
   40         (2)(a) The corporation shall submit an annual budget
   41  projection to the Department of Education to be included in the
   42  annual legislative budget request. The projection must be based
   43  on the cost to award up to 350 scholarships to new scholars in
   44  the junior year and up to 350 renewal scholarships to the 350
   45  rising seniors.
   46         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.